In words we trust.

22 life lessons I learnt in 22 years

It’s hard to believe that last Thursday I celebrated my 22nd birthday. The more I think about it, the more I freak out at how long twenty-two years are. Of course, with many years of existence comes a lot of life lessons. So in light of my 22nd birthday, here’s 22 life lessons I learnt in 22 years:

You will never figure out what you’re supposed to do when people are singing “Happy Birthday” to you. You’ll awkwardly sit there, bury your face in your hands and wish for it to end before it even started.

You still won’t have figured out who you “truly” are – it’s a myth anyway; some days you’re a scientist, others you are the modern Mahatma Ghandi but sometimes you’re just Spiderman still learning how to shoot your webs.

Midlife crisis is a thing; you suddenly get hit with the realisation that you’re an adult with responsibilities you didn’t ask for and stress you didn’t sign up for.

Things that matter to you the most right now will more than likely mean nothing to you in five years time – take it easy and trust in fate.

If someone makes you happy, you should never feel guilty for wanting them in your life regardless of people’s opinions. Your happiness should be your number one priority.

People are not defined by their gender, sexuality, race, appearance, etc… Listen to how they talk about others and that will tell you more than what you need to know about them.

A little kindness goes a long way – you never know what battles people are fighting – kind words and actions will not only empower someone but you’ll also take comfort in knowing you’ve done the right thing.

It does get better but you have to be open to change – sticking to the same comfortable routine, surrounded by the same people within the same environment never fixes anything, get out of your comfort zone.

Change is good – it may mean we lose people but it also means we meet new faces, new places and create new memories. If it wasn’t for change you would not meet half the people you know today.

Losing friends doesn’t have to be as traumatic and upsetting as it is – every time someone walks away, they’re making space for a better person to walk into your life.

Gratitude is a powerful tool to happiness – making a conscious effort on focusing on the things you do have rather than the things you don’t have will flourish your confidence and your overall happiness.

There’s no such thing as the “right time” – whether you do the thing today or tomorrow, it doesn’t matter. But, the sooner you do it, the sooner you’ll feel better.

You don’t know true love until you have loved yourself – because no one’s love will feel true and pure unless you have the confidence to love yourself first and foremost. You don’t need others to validate your existence.

Life is all about equilibrium and so are your emotions – if you ever find yourself feeling down and can’t point a finger as to why, just trust in that your body is balancing out your emotional spectrum and allow yourself to feel.

You are fully in control of your life – you have the power to change ANY situation your life at any moment of time, but are you brave enough to take the first step?

If you want people to admire the person you are, it starts with you believing in yourself – expectingothers to appreciate you as a person when you don’t see reasons for self-appreciation is bizarre and unrealistic.

Everything in life happens for a reason – as clichéd as it is, every bad experience is a journey towards building a better, smarter, stronger character.

Remind yourself of your existence – sometimes we get so absorbed into social media, study, work, etc… we forget to take time to look up and admire the stars at night or the birds in our skies; we forget to appreciate the natural world that we exist in.

Parents are almost always right – its hard to understand why parents are protective or disagree with something in a moment of time but as you get older you begin to understand.

The way you view people is a direct reflection on how you view yourself – we all lack confidence every now and then, but don’t let it destroy your relationships with people, take responsibility for your problems and get to the root of them instead of assuming the worst in people.

Fear is the only barrier between you and success – there’s no such thing as impossible, everything is possible if you defeat the fear barrier.

Post navigation

7 comments

Great advice!! Thanks for sharing!!
I found your little space in the community pool, so glad I did!! amazing write up!!!keep writing and inspire us…. surely will be waiting for more!!
Please do visit my blog when time permits, thanks in advance and see you there! 🙂

I like and agree with everything; with the exception of the last one, fear is the only barrier between you and TRYING*. Success is whatever you define it. You could have all the amazing intentions and courage in the world, and you’ll still most likely fail or not meet your own expectations, and thats okay.

But yeah- Midlife crisis is in your late thirties, not when you’re 22. thats called a quarter life crisis.